Eldora Speedway has been a staple of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car tour since its debut in 1978, and that trend will continue this weekend.
“The Big E” will elevate its status as the most visited track in World of Outlaws history when The Greatest Show on Dirt returns for #LetsRaceTwo Friday-Saturday, May 5-6. Eldora’s 230 races stand atop the list of tracks that the World of Outlaws have invaded, and that number will grow to 232 as Eldora continues to cement its significance in Sprint Car Racing history.
Fans will see the top Winged Warriors and Non-Wing Warriors battling both nights as well with the United States Auto Club (USAC) Non-Wing Sprint Cars accompanying the World of Outlaws for the weekend.
Let’s look at some of the weekend’s top storylines:
CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE: The trio atop the World of Outlaws standings – Carson Macedo, Brad Sweet, and David Gravel – will carry their tight battle into Eldora, where they’ve all found success.
Macedo leads the charge with six consecutive top fives entering the weekend aboard the Jason Johnson Racing #41. Eldora has been especially kind to Macedo in recent years. In his last 10 visits, the Lemoore, CA native has posted five podiums, a 4.4 average finish, and a pair of victories.
Sweet and his Kasey Kahne Racing crew trail Macedo by only 12 markers. “The Big Cat” has visited Eldora Victory Lane on three occasions with the World of Outlaws, including two Kings Royals (’13 & ’19). While his recent results aren’t quite on par with Macedo, Sweet still has managed a trio of top fives in his last four starts at the Rossburg, OH oval.
A DNF this past Saturday put Gravel 48 points out of the lead, but Eldora is a prime facility for the Big Game Motorsports driver to make up ground. Four of Gravel’s 80 career Series victories have occurred at “The House that Earl Built” including two last July. The Watertown, CT native also topped the All-Star Circuit of Champions’ Governor’s Reign for a $52,000 payday in 2020.
LACK OF BACK TO BACK: Eldora has given fans a variety of winners over the last few years. In the track’s last 16 races, no driver has won consecutive trophies, even though four competitors have claimed more than one main event during that stretch.
The man who will have the chance to break the trend this Friday is St. Helena, CA’s Rico Abreu. The 31-year-old topped last September’s BeFour the Crowns Showdown to collect his 10th career Series victory. Abreu has already won twice this season (Lincoln Speedway & 81 Speedway), and one more tally in the win column would be his personal best for one season with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
ELDORA EXCELLENCE: It’s fitting that the most recent driver to go back-to-back at Eldora is the one who has dominated the ‘The Big E” over stints of his career – Donny Schatz.
The 10-time Series champion has claimed a whopping 17 Eldora triumphs during his tenure with the World of Outlaws. It’s the third winningest track on his record, and only Steve Kinser (41 wins) and Sammy Swindell (30 wins) have been more successful at Eldora. During one remarkable stretch from 2017 to 2019, Schatz topped nine of 16 Eldora Features.
This weekend presents Schatz with an opportunity to shake off a recent slump aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15.
SHARK STRENGTH: Eldora Speedway is a track that the Shark Racing duo of Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen have found plenty of success at during their nine years on the tour.
Schuchart has been especially strong. The Hanover, PA native has made three trips to Eldora Victory Lane – most recently in September of 2021. Schuchart has also podiumed in 10 of his last 24 Series appearances. He enters the weekend fourth in points.
Allen has also been plenty productive. Of his 126 career top 10s, 10 of them have come at Eldora Speedway including a pair of top fives. Allen is fresh off his fifth best finish of the season and hopes to build more momentum at a track where he’s had speed in the past.
BAYSTON’S PROGRESS: Eldora proved to be a struggle for Spencer Bayston in the early part of his career, but he’s turned that narrative around.
In his first eight World of Outlaws starts at Eldora, Bayston wasn’t able to tally a top 10. In the six starts he’s made since, the CJB Motorsports pilot has missed the top 10 only twice and posted a best finish of fourth on two occasions.
The Lebanon, IN native looks to continue improving and stand on the podium at least once this weekend.
Bayston is also a former Eldora winner – topping a 2017 USAC Midget race at the track.
EVERYBODY AT THE BIG E: On top of the strong crop of World of Outlaws full-timers, #LetsRaceTwo is expected to attract many more talented gassers.
Last July, Brent Marks filled his wallet at Eldora by winning both The Historical Big One ($100,000) and Kings Royal ($175,000). Four of Marks’ 12 career World of Outlaws wins have come at Eldora (33%).
Tyler Courtney is stout no matter the kind of vehicle he’s in at Eldora. “Sunshine” has racked up 13 wins at the half-mile between Winged Sprint Cars, Non-Wing Sprint Cars, Midgets, and Silver Crown Cars. Among those is a Kings Royal triumph – currently his lone World of Outlaws victory.
Even Lance Dewease and the Kreitz Racing crew plan to depart from the porch in Pennsylvania to make the trip one state west.
More invaders expected include Justin Peck, Buddy Kofoid, Anthony Macri, and many more.
Local talents including the likes of Travis Philo, Cole Duncan, and others could also contend for impressive finishes.
For tickets to #LetsRaceTwo, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.
THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
WHEN AND WHERE
Friday and Saturday May 5-6 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, OH
ON THE INTERNET
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws
Instagram – @WoOSprint
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month
CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (15/81 Races)
- 41 – Carson Macedo (2110PTS) 2. 49 – Brad Sweet (-12PTS) 3. 2 – David Gravel (-48PTS) 4. 1S – Logan Schuchart (-74PTS) 5. 11 – Michael Kofoid (-94PTS) 6. 17 – Sheldon Haudenschild (-130PTS) 7. 83 – James McFadden (-182PTS) 8. 18 – Gio Scelzi (-190PTS) 9. 15 – Donny Schatz (-194PTS) 10. 5 – Spencer Bayston (-194PTS)
NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (8 Drivers):
4 wins – David Gravel (Big Game Motorsports #2)
3 wins – Brad Sweet (Kasey Kahne Racing #49)
2 wins – James McFadden (Roth Motorsports #83), Rico Abreu (Rico Abreu Racing #24)
1 win – Carson Macedo (Jason Johnson Racing #41), Buddy Kofoid (CMS Racing #11), Sheldon Haudenschild (Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing #17), Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports #21)
FEATURE LAPS LED (13 Drivers):
92 laps – David Gravel
79 laps – Brad Sweet
63 laps – Carson Macedo
60 laps – James McFadden
46 laps – Buddy Kofoid
43 laps – Rico Abreu
37 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild
15 laps – Logan Schuchart
10 laps – Anthony Macri, Cory Eliason
9 laps – Gio Scelzi, Brent Marks
3 laps – Brady Bacon
SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (9 Drivers):
5 QuickTimes – Carson Macedo
2 QuickTimes – David Gravel, Logan Schuchart
1 QuickTime – Anthony Macri, Brian Brown, Donny Schatz, Buddy Kofoid, Rico Abreu, Gio Scelzi
HEAT RACE WINNERS (19 Drivers):
8 Heat Wins – David Gravel, Carson Macedo
6 Heat Wins – Buddy Kofoid
4 Heat Wins – Brent Marks, Brad Sweet
3 Heat Wins – Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild, Gio Scelzi
2 Heat Wins – Spencer Bayston, Jacob Allen, Parker Price-Miller
1 Heat Win – James McFadden, Brian Brown, Donny Schatz, Danny Dietrich, Freddie Rahmer, Rico Abreu, Brock Zearfoss, Cory Eliason
TOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (28 Drivers):
11 Dashes – David Gravel, Carson Macedo
10 Dashes – Brad Sweet
9 Dashes – Logan Schuchart
6 Dashes – Buddy Kofoid, Jacob Allen, Gio Scelzi, Sheldon Haudenschild
5 Dashes – Spencer Bayston
4 Dashes – Brent Marks, Rico Abreu, Donny Schatz
3 Dashes – James McFadden, Brock Zearfoss
2 Dashes – Brian Brown, Danny Dietrich, Cory Eliason, Parker Price-Miller, Robbie Price
1 Dash – Anthony Macri, Justin Peck, Kasey Kahne, Freddie Rahmer, Devon Borden, Garet Williamson, Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney, Brady Bacon
MICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (13 Drivers):
1 LCS Win – Brock Zearfoss, Parker Price-Miller, Sheldon Haudenschild, Gio Scelzi, Noah Gass, Hunter Schuerenberg, James McFadden, Wayne Johnson, Ryan Timms, Ayrton Gennetten, Robbie Price, Spencer Bayston, Logan Schuchart
KSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (12 Drivers):
2 Hard Chargers – Brock Zearfoss, James McFadden, Tyler Courtney
1 Hard Charger – Donny Schatz, Gio Scelzi, Robbie Price, David Gravel, Logan Schuchart, Justin Peck, Blake Hahn, Buddy Kofoid, Joe B. Miller
PODIUM FINISHES (17 Drivers):
8 Podiums – Brad Sweet
7 Podiums – David Gravel
5 Podiums – Carson Macedo
4 Podiums – Buddy Kofoid
3 Podiums – James McFadden, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild
2 Podiums – Jacob Allen, Rico Abreu
1 Podium – Danny Dietrich, Brian Brown, Kasey Kahne, Devon Borden, Spencer Bayston, Brent Marks, Parker Price-Miller, Brady Bacon
TOP 10 FINISHES (30 Drivers):
15 Top 10s – Carson Macedo
13 Top 10s – Brad Sweet
12 Top 10s – David Gravel, Logan Schuchart
10 Top 10s – Sheldon Haudenschild, Michael Kofoid
9 Top 10s – Gio Scelzi
8 Top 10s – Spencer Bayston, James McFadden
6 Top 10s – Rico Abreu
5 Top 10s – Donny Schatz, Justin Peck
4 Top 10s – Brent Marks, Jacob Allen, Kasey Kahne, Tyler Courtney
2 Top 10s – Aaron Reutzel, Brian Brown, Danny Dietrich, Brock Zearfoss, Blake Hahn, Brady Bacon, Cory Eliason
1 Top 10 – Robbie Price, Zeb Wise, Devon Borden, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Parker Price-Miller, Joe B. Miller, Hunter Schuerenberg
2023 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS:
No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
- Fri, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1)
- Fri, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (2)
- Sat, Feb 11* / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / James McFadden (1)
- Sun, March 5 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Carson Macedo (1)
- Mon, March 6 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (3)
- Sat, March 18 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Rico Abreu (1)
- Fri, March 24 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL / Buddy Kofoid (1)
- Sat, March 25 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS / Brad Sweet (1)
- Fri, March 31 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX / Brad Sweet (2)
- Sat, April 1 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX / James McFadden (2)
- Fri, April 7 / U.S. 36 Raceway / Osborn, MO / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)
- Sat, April 8 / 81 Speedway / Wichita, KS / Rico Abreu (2)
- Fri, April 14 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (3)
- Fri, April 28 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL / David Gravel (4)
- Sat, April 29 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Brady Bacon (1)
